by The Biden administration on Friday issued guidance that makes much of the country eligible for tax credits intended to offset the cost of installing electric vehicle chargers.
Consumers and businesses can claim the credit for charging equipment installed for public or private use in homes or commercial properties. The initiative aims to make it more affordable for Americans to deploy electric vehicle chargers, which will need to be widely available for the United States to meet the Biden administration’s goal of having electric vehicles account for half of new car sales by 2030.
Before Friday’s guidance, it was unclear which areas might qualify for the tax credit. Eligible shippers had to be located in low-income or non-urban areas, but it was unclear how many locations would fall into those categories.
The Treasury Department chose to make a broad set of locations eligible, covering much of the country outside of major cities. Qualified areas They cover approximately two-thirds of the US population.Treasury Department spokesperson Ashley Schapitl said in a statement.
Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the Treasury, highlighted the growth in electric vehicle sales last year and said the administration hoped the new guidelines would promote more progress this year.
“More clarity around the law’s incentive to build new charging infrastructure in the communities that need it most will help drive continued progress in 2024,” Adeyemo said in a statement.
Individuals and businesses purchasing chargers or other eligible fueling equipment can receive a credit up to 30 percent of the installation cost.
Clean energy advocates said greater availability of tax credits would speed up the installation of chargers across the country, helping drive broader adoption of electric vehicles. Sales of these vehicles have grown faster than those of any other major auto category, but demand has not grown as much as expected. This has led some automakers to reduce production.
The Biden administration is trying to entice consumers to buy electric vehicles by offering tax credits of up to $7,500 per vehicle. The federal government is also spending billions of dollars to help build a nationwide network of reliable, high-speed chargers, but rollout has been slow.
Luke Tonachel, senior director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said that greater clarity on eligible locations could have accelerated the deployment of charging infrastructure last year, and that there were concerns that federal officials would not make the credit was widely available. But he said the new guidance would now help speed up the installation of more chargers.
“I would hope that with this clarity, there will be businesses and consumers that will make more investments in charging knowing that this is already available,” Tonachel said.
Albert Gore III, executive director of the Zero Emissions Transportation Association, an industry group, said the new guidance was a “positive step” that would help attract more investment to rural and low-income communities.
“It’s going to significantly increase the availability of public charging,” Gore said. “We’re very happy to see where the orientation ended up.”
